Poptimism is a school of contemporary popular music criticism characterized by its rejection of the notion of the “guilty pleasure” and traditions within rock journalism called “rockism.” Through an examination of poptimist writing, particularly Carl Wilson’s “Céline project” (which resulted in a book, Céline Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste) and material on musician Stephin Merritt’s comments at the Experience Music Project Pop Conference in 2006, trends emerge: efforts at combating elitism and promoting populism are belied by practices associated with high levels of cultural capital. These tendencies are examined from three angles. First, following Johan Fornäs, poptimist attitudes toward authenticity and reflexivity are considered. In their treatment of musical texts, poptimists reject rockist notions of authenticity while failing to account for consumers’ need for genuineness. Their grasp of reflexivity is greater when it comes to reception; Wilson’s project, an exercise in self-scrutiny for elitist bias via an attempt to appreciate the music of Céline Dion, shows the significance of reflexivity for poptimism. Second, poptimists’ approach to identity and difference is considered. Commentary on Merritt, who was accused of racism due to his admitted dislike of certain African-American artists and genres, is typical: oversimplified models of hegemony undermine deep concern about identity politics. Poptimists’ advocacy of omnivorous consumption as an anti-elitist strategy is flawed: using intellectual approaches and spurning the middlebrow are practices associated with high cultural capital. This strategy seems to lead to co-optation rather than real change. Third, poptimism’s relationship to value and emotion is analyzed. Poptimists have doubts about value judgments given traditional aesthetics’ hierarchical baggage, yet value judgments are critics’ raison d’être. Poptimism’s rejection of guilty pleasure and Wilson’s “guilty displeasure” concept link aesthetics to affect. Poptimists approach emotion inconsistently, embracing it when convenient but subjecting it to doubt and intellectualization when it seems to support elitism. Like many poptimist strategies, populist ideas motivate this approach, but it emulates hegemonic traditions. / text

The specific problem prompting this investigation is the creation of a method of music criticism. The purposes for the investigation are three in number. First and foremost, the purpose of the investigation is to develop an unrestricted method of music criticism. The development of such a method fulfills the second reason for the investigation. Although Mortimer Adler and the Paideia Group have clearly stated the classes and pedagogy to be utilized in a Paideia curriculum, they have done little to suggest specific class content. This study resolves the content problem for one class. It is recommended that the music masterworks class be treated as a course in music criticism. Through such treatment of the class, students will meet the goals of the Paideia Group and develop the tools for societal reconstruction. Finally, the goal of establishing a method of music criticism harmonious with the educational philosophy of reconstructionism is the end to the previous two "means" purposes.

History shows that Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a devout member of the Lutheran faith. Studying Bach’s life reveals that two sects of Lutheranism were the most influential to him, Orthodoxy and Pietism. A brief historical study of these two sects’ founders and their theology are presented in this document. All of Bach’s compositions are a reflection of his Christian beliefs but none is greater than his St. Matthew Passion. Although Bach is known to be a member of the Orthodox denomination, by observing the parallels between the beliefs of the two sects and the St. Matthew Passion, this document reveals Bach to take a more liberal view. This thesis intends to show that Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is a universal piece of Christian music that transcends religious denomination. Ultimately, Bach’s faith was centered on Jesus Christ and His message. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Three original chamber pieces are discussed from numerous points of view. They were composed for string quartet (Escape and String quartet in Four Movements), and string quartet with flute (Forward Motion). Each piece is analyzed in terms of its historical background, compositional techniques, and formal and stylistic techniques. Each piece draws influences from different genres. Escape was influenced by minimalism and jazz and is based on the Locrian scale. Forward Motion is in a modified classical form (Sonata) but draws influences from modern music and employs much dissonance. String quartet in Four Movements combines elements of expressionism, minimalism and jazz. Each piece is discussed in regards to its musical characteristics and historical influences including scales, harmony, rhythmic structure and form. / by Rochelle M. Frederick. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The entity of Lucifer has long been an area of study and confusion throughout history. Among notable literary minds, Dante Alighieri stands out as an illuminating poet who brings to light the essence and nature of this nefarious character and his influence on mankind. In his revelatory work, the Commedia, Dante touches on but does not explicitly detail the scope and importance that music and specifically, song, has on the redemptive purgation of the soul. This work provides a more in depth investigation into the generally overlooked issue, that is, the origin and initial intent of song, the perversion of which, by whom and why, and Dante’s perception of the subject revealed in his missive to mankind. Along scientific theory, along with other works by Dante to provide a link between Lucifer, music, the sin of pride, and the corruption of the divine. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

En France, l’idée d’un piano-orchestral voit le jour durant la première moitié du XIXe siècle. Dès les premières décennies, de nombreux commentateurs reconnaissent dans l’instrument à clavier la capacité de restituer en son sein l’ensemble symphonique. Les écrits instaurent une relation étroite entre le piano et l’orchestre. Dans l’inconscient collectif, le piano ne tarde pas à devenir un « petit-orchestre complet » comme tend à le prouver le discours qui utilise ce qualificatif en tant que référence commune. Dans l’ombre de cette pensée s’élabore l’idée de la pénétration d’une « figure orchestrale » dans l’œuvre pianistique et naît alors l’idée d’un piano-orchestral. L’enjeu principal de cette thèse sera de tenter de définir le piano-orchestral français à travers un travail lié à la réception. Nous faisons en effet l’hypothèse que certaines œuvres pour piano ou certains éléments de celles-ci invitent l’auditeur à effectuer un transfert d’idées entre le piano et l’orchestre ou à reconnaître l’ensemble symphonique au clavier. Le piano-orchestral serait alors une écoute de l’œuvre pianistique. En tant que phénomène lié à laréception de l’œuvre, le piano-orchestral appartient au domaine de la verbalisation de la musique et nous avons donc choisi de l’étudier à travers le prisme du discours musical. Notre ambition étant de définir le piano-orchestral, nous avons décidéd’interroger son élaboration et ses fondements en nous concentrant sur ses prémices. Notre recherche s’étendra donc de 1835 à 1849 ; une période correspondant à la reconnaissance de l’idée jusqu’au début de sa remise en question. / In France, the idea of an orchestral piano was born during the first half of the 19th century. Since the early decades, many commentators recognized in the keyboard instrument the ability to reproduce the orchestra by itself and the writingsestablished a close relationship between the piano and the orchestra. In the collective unconscious, the piano soon became a "complete small orchestra" as the use of this qualifier as a common reference shows. In the shadow of this thought, the idea of including an “orchestral figure“ into the pianistic work was developed and thus the idea of an orchestral piano. The main challenge of this thesis will be to attempt to define the French orchestral piano through the study of its reception. Indeed, we hypothesise that some works for piano or some parts of them invite the listener to make a transfer of ideas between the piano and the orchestra or to recognize the orchestra on the keyboard. The orchestral piano would then be a listening to the pianistic work. As a phenomenon related to the reception of the work, the orchestral piano belongs to the domain of the verbalization of music and we therefore chose to study it through the prism of musical speech. Our ambition being to define the orchestral piano, we decided to question its elaboration and its foundations by focusing on its infancy. Our research will consequently extend from 1835 to 1849, a period corresponding to the recognition of the idea until the beginning of it being brought into question.

Orientador: Marcelo Siqueira Ridenti / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-17T16:13:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ghezzi_DanielaRibas_D.pdf: 2477441 bytes, checksum: d623bf06473e2dad3ee33ea33a69a7d7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O trabalho analisa o processo de modernização da música popular brasileira compreendido entre 1958 e 1968, passando pelas tendências da bossa nova, da canção de protesto, da "moderna música brasileira" e do tropicalismo. No decorrer desse processo deflagrou-se a sigla MPB, reconhecível a partir de 1965. O objetivo do trabalho é o de compreender a gênese e identificar os princípios musicais que se tornaram parâmetros legítimos da produção musical conhecida como MPB, bem como o de analisar o processo de autonomização de um campo de produção simbólica: o campo da MPB. / Abstract: The work analyzes the process of modernization of brazilian popular music between 1958 and 1968, going by the trends of the bossa nova, song of protest, the "modern brazilian music", and the tropicalism. During this process emerged the acronym MPB, recognizable since 1965. The objective is to understand the genesis and identify the musical principles that have become legitimate parameters of music production known as MPB, as well as to analyze the autonomization process of a symbolic production field: the field of MPB. / Doutorado / Sociologia da Cultura / Doutor em Sociologia

Orientador: Marcelo Siqueira Ridenti / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T12:27:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Diniz_SheylaCastro_M.pdf: 2144482 bytes, checksum: b20237514ea06429f762092c3fa85675 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: O trabalho aborda uma parcela da vasta e heterogênea trajetória do Clube da Esquina no campo da MPB (Música Popular Brasileira). Esse grupo de músicos, letristas e amigos, inicialmente gestado em Belo Horizonte/MG em meados dos anos 1960, atingiu o ápice fonográfico na primeira metade da década seguinte, conjugando um aguçado caráter experimental e coletivo na elaboração de seus discos e canções. Tomando como referência esses dois momentos, as análises almejaram problematizar as particularidades estético-musicais e filosóficas da turma, suas relações com outros artistas e com a gravadora EMI-Odeon e suas variadas respostas culturais ao contexto político-social no qual estava inserida. A pesquisa também pretendeu por em destaque os processos que, na passagem dos anos 1970 a 1980, demarcaram a diluição do Clube da Esquina como uma formação cultural. A observância desse período permitiu estender as investigações para abarcar algumas recentes iniciativas e lutas simbólicas que visam garantir ao Clube da Esquina certo reconhecimento e legitimação no atual rol de debates acerca da MPB / Abstract: The research intends to verify the heterogeneous trajectory of Clube da Esquina in the field of MPB (Brazilian Popular Music). This group of musicians, songwriters and friends, gestated in Belo Horizonte/MG in the mid-1960s, reached the phonograph peak in the first half of next decade, combining a pointed collective and experimentally character in the preparation of their albums and songs. About these two moments, the analyses explored some aesthetic-musical and philosophical aspects of the group, their relationships with others artists and with the label EMIOdeon and their cultural answers to social-political context. This academic work also examined the processes that, in the passage of the years 1970 to 1980, staked the dissolution of Clube da Esquina as a cultural formation. To observe that period allowed extending the investigations for study some recent initiatives and symbolic struggles that have ensured recognition and legitimacy to the Clube da Esquina in the current debates about MPB / Mestrado / Sociologia / Mestre em Sociologia

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This dissertation investigates how German-language critics articulated and publicly negotiated ideas about music and expressionism in the first five years after World War I. A close reading of largely unexplored primary sources reveals that "musical expressionism" was originally conceived as an intrinsically musical matter rather than as a stylistic analog to expressionism in other art forms, and thus as especially relevant to purely instrumental rather than vocal and stage genres. By focusing on critical reception of an unlikely group of instrumental chamber works, I elucidate how the acts of performing, listening to, and evaluating "expressionist" music were enmeshed in the complexities of a politicized public concert life in the immediate postwar period. The opening chapters establish broad music-aesthetic and sociopolitical contexts for critics' postwar discussions of "musical expressionism." After the first, introductory chapter, Chapter 2 traces how art and literary critics came to position music as the most expressionist of the arts based on nineteenth-century ideas about the apparently unique ontology of music. Chapter 3 considers how this conception of expressionism led progressive-minded music critics to interpret expressionist music as the next step in the historical development of absolute music. These critics strategically—and controversially—portrayed Schoenberg's "atonal" polyphony as a legitimate revival of "linear" polyphony in fugues by Bach and late Beethoven. Chapter 4 then situates critical debates about the musical and cultural value of expressionism within broader struggles to construct narratives that would explain Germany's traumatic defeat in the Great War and abrupt restructuring as a fragile democratic republic. Against this backdrop, the later chapters explore critics' responses to public performances of specific "expressionist" chamber works. Chapter 5 traces reactions to a provocative performance of Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony, op. 9 (1906) at the Berlin Volksbühne in February 1920. Chapter 6 examines the interplay of musical-aesthetic and sociopolitical issues in critical reception of several postwar concerts that juxtaposed Schoenberg's "expressionist" Chamber Symphony with Franz Schreker's "impressionist" Chamber Symphony (1916). Chapter 7 considers how critics situated performances of Alexander Zemlinsky's Second String Quartet, op. 15 (1916) in relation to ideas about "expressionism" in music. Finally, Chapter 8 considers critical reception of performances of Béla Bartók's Second String Quartet, op. 17 (1917) in the context of two concert series sponsored by "expressionist" journals: the Anbruch-Abende in Vienna (1918) and the Melos-Abende in Berlin (1922 and 1923). Each of these final chapters uses contemporary criticism as a vehicle for a close reading of the relevant musical work, resulting in a portrait of "expressionist" music that is both contextually and musically nuanced.